Manufacture of blocks with predetermined number of sheets



April 6, 1937. H. CHAMBON ""'2',07'5;7s9

MANUFACTURE OF BLOCKS WITH PREDETERMINED NUMBER OF SHEETS Filed Maroh 20, 1936 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 April 6, 1937. CHAMBQN 2,075,789

MANUFACTURE OF BLOCKS WITH PREDETERMINED NUMBER OF SHEETS Filed March 20, 1936 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 Patented Apr. 6, 1937 UNITED STATES PATET ICE MANUFACTURE OF BLOCKS WITH PRE- DETERMINED NUMBER OF SHEETS of France Application March 20, 1936, Serial No. 69,984 In France March 25, 1935 Claims.

The present invention refers to the manufacture of blocks such as cigarette paper blocks which must comprise a given number of sheets of paper or like material.

5 It is already known to constitute such blocks by means of a feeding device which piles up in a container the desired number of sheets; a number of said devices being superimposed a very efficient machine is thus obtained. A more advantageous arrangement may however be secured, according to the present invention, by providing in the same machine a plurality of feeding devices which pile up the sheets at a given rate, in containers subjected to a forward motion owing to which each of them is successively fed by several of said devices which supply them with a given number of sheets. In this way the mechanism is greatly simplified and the advantage of a single receiving device, supplying the completed blocks at a rapid rate, is secured.

In an advantageous embodiment of the invention, the feeding devices are arranged side by side before a conveyor subjected to an intermittent forward motion, which brings successively the containers before each feeding device. In order to form the blocks comprising a sheet of a given type, such as a blank sheet or an advertising sheet a feeding device may be provided for supplying only one sheet for each forward motion of the conveyor; the other feeding devices will preferably supply a given number of sheets in the same time interval. The number of sheets may be varied in each block, by means of a change speed gear, which enables to vary 5 the speed ratio between the feeding devices which supply only one sheet and those which supply a plurality of sheets between each forward motion of the conveyor.

An advantageous arrangement comprises the provision of a device which allows the change of speed only in the neighborhood of the moment at i which takes place the forward motion of the conveyor. Such a result may be obtained particularly with a time lag control and finger or teeth clutch in which the fingers or the teeth are not symmetrical with respect to a diameter, but are so arranged that the fingers or teeth may be brought out of engagement with one of the gears to come into engagement with another gear only when such gears have performed a given number of revolutions; it is then easy to make such disengagement in register with the timevat which the forward motion of the conveyor takes place. By way of example and in order to facilitate the understanding of the. invention an embodiment thereof is shown in the accompanying drawings in which;

Figure 1 is a plan view of a machine according to the invention for the manufacture of blocks of cigarette paper.

Figure 2 is an elevational side view of the machine.

Figure 3 is an end view of the same machine.

Figure 4 is a diagrammatic plan view of the change speed gear.

Figure 5 is a section view through a central plane of the sliding sleeve shown in Figure 4.

The machine shown in the drawings comprises a table 5 at the one end of which are arranged five cigarette paper reels such as 2, a paper reel 3 intended for supplying the blank sheet and a reel 4 carrying a strip of paper on which are printed any sentences of advertising character; the said reels are intended for the manufacture of blocks and each of said blocks will comprise about one hundred sheets of cigarette paper, a blank sheet and an advertising sheet.

The strips of paper 5, unwound from the reels 2, pass between two sets of cylinders carried by the brackets t, l, 8, 9, secured upon the table l; in Figure 1, only the lower cylinders H), II, are shown and it has been assumed that the upper cylinders have been removed. The sets of cylinders are driven by the'shaft l2 and the bevel gears l3, l4, l5, It so that the strips 5 are moved in the direction of the arrow IT. The first set 6, l, H), is intended for printing a sentence on the strips of paper; the secondset 8, 9, H, has for its object to drive the cigarette paper. Other works may be carried out by providing the proper means on the table l between the sets shown in the drawings.

At the other end of the table I is provided a cutting device which is diagrammatically shown at [8; such device will section the strips 5 thus supplying the sheets of the desired length. After being cut, the sheets fall in containers or recesses l9 provided at the end of the table I such containers are attached on a belt 2B and are equally spaced in order to come before each of the strips 5 and receive the severed sheets.

The belt 2!] which forms the conveyor is carried by two drums 2 I, 22, provided with slots such as 23 in which engage the studs such as 24 projecting at the inner face of the belt 28. The drums 2|, 22, remain stationary during the interval of time corresponding to the fall of twenty sheets in each of the containers such as l9; then the drums revolve so that the conveyor 20 will move forward in the direction of the arrows 25 of a distance corresponding to the space comprised between two containers; in this way the container 19 takes the place of the next container 26 and so on all along the conveyor 26.

The operation of the cutting device proceeds continuously and twenty new sheets fall in each of the containers located in front of the strips 5, then the conveyor 26 moves again forward of the same distance. Such process being continuously repeated it is understood that each container is supplied with five times twenty sheets, i. e. one

hundred sheets when reaching 21.

The above described device thus enables with a single unit such as the conveyor 20 to deliver at a high velocity the said blocks comprising each one hundred sheets of paper. The said amount may as well be easily varied either by reducing the number of stripssuch as 5, or by varying the time interval between the forward motions of the conveyor 26, or even by periodically displacing the said conveyor of a distance equal to a multiple of the space comprised between the containers I9.

During their path, the containers such as I9 are subsequently brought before another device which is similar to the above described device. In the said device, the strips of blank sheets 26 and of advertising sheets 29 are cut by a cutting device 39 and respectively fall in the containers 3| and 32. The table I carries the sets 4!, 42, which are similar to the sets of the first device. The motion is imparted to said sets and to the knife 30 by means of a shaft 33 and of bevel pinions 34, 35, 36, 31; the motive motion for the whole machine is imparted to a pulley 38 carried at the end of the shaft 33.

A change speed gear is inserted at 39 (Figures 1 and 2) between the shafts I2 and 33. Owing to the said gear, which will be described below, the speed of the second device is the twentieth of the speed of the first device; as mentioned above, the conveyor 29 will advance of a space only for each twenty sectioning operations of the knife l8 consequently, at each forward motion of the conveyor 26 a blank sheet will be laid at 3|. and an advertising sheet at 32. The blocks arriving at 40 will consequently comprise sheets of cigarette paper, a blank sheet and an advertising sheet.

The composition of the said blocks may be varied, particularly by acting upon the change speed gear 39. Referring to Figures 4 and 5, a change speed gear will now be described, which enables to operate either with 100 sheets or with sheets. To this end two toothed gears 44, 45, (Figure 4) are keyed on the shaft 33 to which is imparted the motive motion; the said gears engage the pinions 46, 41, carried loose on a shaft 43 which drives the shaft l2 by means of a set of gears not shown. The said shaft 43 carries furthermore a slidably keyed sleeve 48 which is provided with the fingers 49, 56 (Figures 4 and 5) liable to come in engagement either with the pinion 45 or with the pinion 4'7; to this end the pinions 46 and 41 are provided with apertures such as 5i provided with a helical slope at their entry, in order to facilitate the introduction of the fingers. .The apertures of the pinions and the fingers 49, 56, are not diametrically opposite, but slightly offset as shown in Figure 5.

In order to cause the sliding of the sleeve 48, a lever 52 is provided and two pins 53, 54, project from said lever and pass through a groove of the sleeve 48. The said lever 52 is linked on an axis 55, as well as an arm 56 which serves for the drive; the said arm carries two springed pistons 57!, 53, acting on a button 59 provided at the end of the lever 52.

The manipulation of the lever 56 may be accomplished at any time; however such manipulation does not immediately cause the change of speed since the fingers 49, 55, abut against the side of the loose pinion, as explained above.

The gear 44 is provided with 45 teeth, the gears 45 and 4? with 42 and the gear 43 with 36 teeth. Consequently the gears 45, 41, are equal, whilst the gears 44 and 46 are in the ratio of 4 to 5. The forward motion of the transverse conveyor 26 takes place for each 4 revolutions of the shaft 33; consequently, between each forward motion of the conveyor the gears 44, 45, and 47! revolve four times, whilst the gear 46 revolves five times. Consequently, when the sleeve 48 is in the position shown in Figure 4, i. e. when the fingers 49, 56 connect the gear 46 to the shaft l2 and for each advance of the conveyor 20, the shaft 33 revolves 4 times and only one blank sheet is placed in the container 3| and an advertising sheet in the container 32; during the same time interval, the shaft l2 revolves five times thus causing five times the fall of 25 sheets, i. e. 125 sheets, in each of the containers such as I9 and 26.

If at any time the lever 56 is operated, by causing it to pivot about the axis 55, the sleeve 48 will tend to slide, but the fingers 49 and 50 abut against the side of the gear 4i and do not leave the apertures of the gear 46; the piston 58 consequently enters inits housing thus compressing its spring and the apparatus will re main at rest.

Under the pressure due to the piston 58, the fingers 49, 59, will penetrate in the apertures 5| as soon as they will both come before such apertures; this is obtained for each five revolutions of the gear 46 and for four revolutions of the gear 41. Then the lever 52 is pivoting about its axis 55 thus driving the sleeve 48 which slides on the shaft l2. This is facilitated by the small helical slopes provided in the inner face of the pinion 41 and leading for instance in the entrance of the aperture 51; for sake of clearness the slopes have not been shown in the drawings but each of the apertures is provided with a slope in the direction in which are introduced the ends of the fingers.

When the above described control has been performed, at each forward motion of the conveyor 26, the shaft 43 revolves four times, thus causing the fall of four times 25 sheets, i. e. 100 sheets in the containers such as l9 and 26. Furthermore, the gearings are so arranged that the forward motion of the conveyor 26 will sub stantially take place at the time at which the apertures of the gears 46, 47, are in register; the change of speed thus takes place between the completion of a block and the beginning of the next one. As a result the operation for 125 sheets will be changed into operation at 100 sheets without any special provision.

Having now particularly described and ascertained the nature of my invention and in what manner the same is to be performed, I declare that what I claim is:

1. An apparatus for the manufacture of blocks with a predetermined number of sheets such as blocks of cigarette paper sheets comprising a plurality of sheet feeding means, containers for said sheets, means for successively bringing said containers into position for receiving said sheets from each of said feeding means, means whereby between each forward motion of said containers a number of said feeding means supply only one sheet while the other feeding means supply a plurality of sheets and a change speed gear provided between said feeding means supplying one sheet and the other feeding means.

2. An apparatus for the manufacture of blocks of sheets of cigarette papers and sheets of paper of a different nature comprising a plurality of sheet feeding means, containers for said sheets, means for intermittently advancing said containers so as to be fed by said sheet feeding means, means whereby certain of said feeding means supply to said containers a single sheet upon each stopping of said containers while others of said feeding means supply a plurality of sheets upon each stopping of said containers and change speed means located between said sheet feeding means supplying one sheet and those supplying a plurality of sheets.

3. An apparatus in accordance with claim 2 in which said means are provided for operating said change speed means during the movement .of said containers.

4. An apparatus as set forth in claim 2 in which means are provided for operating said change speed means while said containers are moving and means are provided for operating said change speed means separate from said advancing means for said containers.

5. An apparatus in accordance with claim 2 in which said change speed means comprises a sliding clutch located between two gears, said sliding clutch having fingers which will engage in openings provided in said gears.

HENRI CHAMBON. 

